Culture

Budget process, tech updates, opportunities for bond input, and more at School Board

| Janet Clemons |

The January 3, 2024 MSAD 15 School Board meeting highlighted that the school budget process has begun, technology is being updated, and public input is being sought about a possible facilities bond.

Budget process. The Board heard a report from MSAD 15 Superintendent Dr. Craig King about the budget process.  The Administration and the Board engage in a lengthy process to create the budget for an upcoming school year. Before going into specifics, Dr. King reminded the Board that they have three main obligations.  Those are to hire a superintendent, make policies to manage the schools, and fund the schools through the referendum process.

This year there will be budget informational sessions on the following dates:

— On January 17, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. in the Gray Pennell Complex, the first  Budget Workshop will be an administrative report on Athletics, Co-curriculars, the Middle School and the High School.  The report will include quantitative indicators. Quantitative data is Information that is expressed as a numerical measure. For example, 80% of students in the third grade met Maine Department of Education benchmarks in Mathematics as measured by the Maine Education Assessment.

The report will also include Qualitative Indicators: information that cannot be counted, measured, or easily expressed using numbers. For example, teachers at Memorial and Russell Schools met by grade level every other Wednesday to analyze various student work samples in mathematics, reading, and writing to determine student achievement and to reflect upon and adjust instruction to support student learning.

The workshop will also include what is being asked for in terms of the 24/25 school year: Will administrators’ proposed budgets remain with the status quo or will they be asking for additional funding?  The workshops will cover each cost center, and each workshop will follow the same format of providing qualitative and quantitative indicators, as well as any requests for funds over and above what was budgeted for this school year 23/24. 

— On January 24, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. in the New Gloucester Meetinghouse, the presentation will be administrative reports on Special Services, Dunn School, Russell School, and Memorial School administration. 

— On February 28, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. in the High School Library, the workshop will include administrative reports on Adult Education and Technology.

— On March 20, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. at the Gray Pennell Complex, the Central Office administration will present the draft Comprehensive Budget.  All cost center administrators will be there as well to answer any questions that the Board might have about the proposed Comprehensive Budget. Any questions that can’t be answered immediately will be researched by administrators and a response brought back to the board at the following meeting. Dr. King specified that any requests for information, research, or legal guidance should be directed to the administration by School Board consensus, not on the whim of one board member.

— On March 27, 2024, 6:30 p.m. at the High School Library, there will be a discussion of the Draft Comprehensive Budget, response to any questions not answered during the prior meeting, and discussions about “fine-tuning” the budget. Again, any requests for information, research, or legal guidance should be directed to the administration by school board consensus, not one board member, King said.

— April 10, 2024, 6:30 p.m. at Central Office. During this April Finance Committee Meeting, the Finance Committee will deliberate on the work of the budget to date and vote on a budget recommendation to submit to the School Board as a whole.

— April 24, 2024 6:30 p.m. at the New Gloucester Meetinghouse. During this regular School Board business meeting, the School Board will have their final discussion on the proposed budget. They will then vote on the comprehensive budget to send to the public budget validation meeting.

— On May 1, 2024, 6:30 p.m. at the New Gloucester Meetinghouse, the School Board business meeting will include signing the 18 warrant articles.  These explicitly describe what the voters are being asked to consider, described in exact amounts for exact purposes.  After the warrant articles are signed, they are brought to each Town Office and the Post Office for public posting.  

— May 12, 2024 is the anticipated date that the MSAD 15 Budget publication will be mailed to every household and business in the school district. 

— On Thursday, May 16, 2024, at 6:30 in the High School Cafetorium will be the public Budget Validation Meeting for all Gray-New Gloucester voters. The meeting proceedings will be led by a moderator. This annual meeting, open to all MSAD 15 registered voters, has a town meeting-type format that allows citizens to ask questions about the budget and to vote to approve (or not) warrant articles for each school cost center.

— On Tuesday, June 11, 2024, voters will vote to approve or reject the total regional school budget in a School Budget referendum vote, one part of the municipal elections held that day. Gray residents will vote at the Newbegin Gym, and New Gloucester residents at the Fire Station. 

— On June 12, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. in Gray at the Pennell Complex at 6:30 p.m., the Board will hold its Validation of Budget vote.

Dr. King also felt that it was important to talk about MSAD 15’s legal status. The Legislature has absolute authority over public education in Maine, he said. The school board is the governing body of MSAD 15, deriving its powers and duties from state law; it is not subordinate to any municipal government. Municipalities may only legislate over limited aspects of public education—that is, only if state law does not comprehensively address a particular topic and only if municipal legislation does not frustrate state law’s purpose. The municipal and school budgets are not related, co-mingled, or interconnected in creation or adoption, he noted. 

School Board Chair Sam Pfeifle asked Board members to begin reviewing their budget materials and present any questions to himself or Dr. King as soon as possible in order to streamline the process in terms of information, research, or legal guidance.

Report from the new Technology Director. Christopher Galasso, Technology Director as of October 27, 2023, presented an update on staff and on some key technology items that have been completed during the last few months. Lori Lindner will be transitioning to the position of Data Manager on January 16, 2024. The Technology Department includes three other employees as well. 

Galasso reported that the Technology Department has updated the wireless networks at Dunn, Memorial, and Russell Schools.  The Network Closet at the High School has also been upgraded and is now OSHA-compliant. A new Fortigate firewall/backup system has been installed to direct traffic in and out of the school district to improve cyber-security district-wide. Glasso has been reviewing and updating security measures in all areas of technology infrastructure.

New registration software (PowerSchool Enrollment) will be purchased and will be installed and implemented, Galasso said. This is an improved platform with a more streamlined and less redundant process for families and an improved interface for schools. Improvements and efficiencies are being developed and implemented for the Help Desk ticket system.   

The five employees in the Technology Department (including the director and the data specialist) are working to build a strong “team” approach to school district customer service. They are being cross-trained and have had increased professional training in data management and network security. One employee has been trained and one employee is pursuing training as a Certified Apple Technician to increase the district’s in-house capacity for working on devices.

Going into the Budget Process it is important to note that the warranties on student iPads and teacher/staff MacBook Airs (AppleCare) will expire during the 2024-2025 school year.  Also, the High School wireless networks will need significant upgrades.

Policies. The Board removed current policy EBCF Automated External Defibrillators and replaced it with the revised policy EBCF Automated External Defibrillators by unanimous consent. 

The Board unanimously removed policy EC Property Management by unanimous consent.  This is a policy that is not required and involves  department procedure rather than policy.  Most of the property management issues are covered by state law.

Committee reports. The Facilities Committee, chaired by Misty Coolidge, continues to keep the electric bus on the docket and is waiting for more information before more discussion.  Most of their last meeting was about what repairs will be included in the upcoming budget. 

The Finance Committee, chaired by Gary Harriman, went through November Revenue and Expense Reports.  They previewed the budget process and heard a report on the State Funding Formula (ED279) and how the formula for Essential Programs and Services (EPS) is determined. Currently the district is participating in a solar contract for electricity which has saved the district about $25,000.  

The Personnel Committee, chaired by Jason Hart,  continues to discuss support personnel contracts.

The Curriculum Committee, chaired by James Manzer, had nothing to report.

The Policy Committee, chaired by Penny Collins, discussed the policies mentioned above and reviewed Policy JLCR Dealing with Life-threatening Allergies in our Schools with no changes recommended to this policy. 

School Board Chair report. Chair Sam Pfeifle reported that  MSAD 15 is currently working on a bond project for facility improvements. This work began in 2019, was disrupted by the pandemic, and has been back in development for the last eighteen months.

At the last School Board meeting of 2023, the Board created an Ad Hoc Bond Project Committee. That committee met for the first time on Tuesday, January 3, 2024. The next three meetings will be focused on three specific areas of the project: Cafeteria Needs, Stage-Performing Arts Needs, and Athletic Needs.

The Bond Committee members are Penny Collins, School Board (Committee Chair); Geoff Robbins, Dunn Principal (Special Projects); Frances Monroe, School Board; Rod Pooler, Community; Cole Chandler, School Board; Collette Tweten, Community; Sharon Morey, School Board; Marnie Morneault, Community; Craig King, Superintendent; Nathan Priest, Athletic Director; Diane Boucher, Operations and Finance; and Emily Flynn, Performing Arts Teacher.

During the month of January, the Bond Project Committee welcomes community members, families, students, and employees to attend three meetings:

— On January 9, 2024, the workshop will cover Cafeteria Needs. Building administrators and representatives from the Nutrition program will present.

— On January 16, 2024, the workshop will cover Stage/Performing Arts Needs.  Building administrators and representatives from the Performing Arts program will present.

— On January 23, 2024, the workshop will be about Athletic Needs.  Building administrators and representatives from the Athletic program will present.

All three meetings will be held at the High School Library from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., and the public will have the opportunity to weigh in and ask questions.

Superintendent’s Report. On staffing, there were no new hires this month but there were transitions to report:

— Debra Miller, the Secretary/Scheduler of the Special Education Department, will be resigning effective June 21, 2024.  Erica Magyar resigned as an Ed Tech II for Russell School.

— Barbara Weed will be retiring as the Art Teacher at the Middle School effective June 30, 2024. Linda Stiffler will be retiring from her teaching position in English at the High School, also effective June 30, 2024. 

— Lori Lindner is transferring from her position of Office Support Specialist in the Central Office to Data Specialist for the District. 

— Clarice Hinkley is transferring from an Ed Tech II at the High School to an Ed Tech III.

The New England School Development Council (NESDEC), similar to the Maine School Management Association except that it serves all six New England states, has been engaged by the District to do a demographic study.  They have provided an initial report that will be provided to the School Board at their January 17 workshop. The preliminary data show estimates that between 2024 and 2034, the student population will be between 1,808 and 1,846. This does not include Pre-K or Child Development Services (CDS) for children over three.  The Superintendent has requested that the NESCDEC revise the data to include Pre-K and CDS figures.

Dr. King also shared that there are plans in the works for an in-house job fair. He considers it will be a one-stop shopping opportunity for folks looking for jobs in all departments throughout the district. There will be more information on this forthcoming. The hope is to have the job fair before April break.